China warns EU against separate EV price negotiations

BEIJING (Reuters) -China urged the European Union on Saturday not to conduct separate negotiations over the price of China-made electric vehicles sold in the EU, warning that this would "shake the foundations" of bilateral tariff negotiations.

"If the European side, while negotiating with China, conducts separate price commitment negotiations with some companies, it will shake the foundation and mutual trust of the negotiations ... and be detrimental to advancing the overall negotiation process," China's Ministry of Commerce said in comments published on its website.

It didn't cite any evidence for the EU carrying out these separate talks beyond saying there had been "relevant reports".

The comments come days after Brussels rejected a Chinese proposal for EVs made in China to be sold within the bloc at a minimum price of 30,000 euros ($32,000), a move Beijing hoped would avert EU tariffs being imposed next month.

Various manufacturers including European-owned companies in China have authorized the China Chamber of Commerce for Machinery and Electronics to propose a price commitment plan that represents the overall position of the industry, the commerce ministry said.

"This is the basis for the current China-EU consultations," it added.

(Reporting by Eduardo Baptista; Editing by William Mallard and David Holmes)